Baccarat associated wagering game

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for providing wagering games associated with an underlying game of baccarat in which wagers are won if the baccarat outcome data includes specific tie outcomes.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 61/567,489 which was filed Dec. 6, 2011, the disclosureof which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates generally to systems and methods of modifying,providing and conducting wagering games, and more particularly,multi-layered wagering games.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Baccarat is a popular game that is oftentimes played in casinoenvironments. It may take the form of a card table game, played with ashoe of cards that is typically an aggregation of several decks ofphysical playing cards, or it can be simulated as an electronic tablegame or an online game.

Baccarat is a card game typically played with multiple decks of standard52-card decks. The cards may be shuffled, cut by a player (and such cutthen marked with a “Cut” card), and placed in a “shoe” from which cardsare dealt during play. As opposed to Poker or Black Jack, where eachplayer is dealt an individual hand, typically only two “community” handsare dealt in Baccarat—a “Banker” hand and a “Player” hand. A “Caller,”usually a casino employee, facilitates the game and deals the Banker andPlayer hands. The Banker hand and Player hand are played against eachother, and each player places one of three principal bets, that is,Player hand wins; Banker hand wins; or Tie hand.

A Baccarat table typically also has a spot for a commission at eachplayer's location. A commission is a percentage paid by the player tothe house on each winning bet made on the Banker hand. In Baccarat, a 5%commission is typically charged. For example, if a player makes a $100bet on the Banker hand, and the Banker hand wins, the player wins $100but owes a $5 commission to the house. A dealer may then place $5 inchips in the player's commission spot to keep track of the commissionowed.

The rules of Baccarat are generally well known. Each player places a beton whether Banker hand wins; Player hand wins; or Tie hand. After allbets are made, the Caller deals one card to the Banker hand and one cardto the Player hand, until each hand has a total of two cards. The cardsmay be dealt face up or face down, and are dealt to a Banker positionand Player position designated on the Baccarat table. If the cards weredealt face down, the cards are turned over, and the dealer totals thescore of the Banker and Player hands by adding the value of the cards ineach hand. Scoring in Baccarat is in modulo ten. For example, if aplayer has a total of 16, his Baccarat point total would be 6. A playerwith an Ace and a Nine would have a zero score because an Ace is worth1, and added to 9 is 10, which is zero in modulo ten. Therefore, nine isthe highest point total in Baccarat. The hand with the higher pointtotal wins.

A player typically receives even money if the player bets on the winninghand. For example, if a player bets $100 on the Player hand and thePlayer hand wins, the player will be paid $100. The same is true for awinning bet on the Banker hand, but the player must also pay acommission to the house. In a casino that charges 5% commission, forexample, the player would owe $5 in commission based on his $100winnings. A casino may charge a higher commission rate, but fewerplayers may choose to participate in a Baccarat game where highercommissions are assessed. No commission is paid on a winning bet on thePlayer hand—commission is only charged on a winning bet on the Bankerhand.

If the score of the Player hand equals the score of the Banker hand, aTie hand occurs. In a Tie hand, all bets on the Banker hand and thePlayer hand are “pushes,” and the amount wagered is returned to eachplayer. Winning bets on the Tie hand are typically paid at odds ofnine-to-one or eight-to-one, depending on the casino or operator. Aplayer is not charged commission on a winning bet on a Tie hand.

If either the Player or the Banker hand has a total of 8 or 9 on theinitial deal, no further cards are drawn. If neither player has an 8 ora 9, a third card may be drawn depending on predetermined rules of thegame. If the total of the Player hand is between 0 and 5, a third cardis dealt to the Player hand. If the total of the Player hand is 6 or 7,the Player hand stands (i.e., does not draw a third card). Depending onwhether the Player hand draws a card, and also depending on theparticular card drawn, the Banker hand will automatically draw a thirdcard according to predetermined rules. For example, if the Player handdraws a 2 or 3, the Banker hand draws a third card if the point total isbetween 0 and 4, and stands if the point total is between 5-7.

At the end of each hand, winning bets are paid and losing bets arecollected by the house. A commission due to the house may be designatedin a commission spot at a player's location at the table after eachhand. The dealer may place the value of the commission in casino chipsby each player, and commission may accrue until the end of the round. Around ends when all the cards—down to the Cut card—are dealt. Thecommission may be collected at the end of the round so that the flow ofthe game is not interrupted.

While Baccarat is a very popular game, many new games which are quicklyrising in popularity provide numerous wagering opportunities, thusincreasing player participation and excitement. Consequently, furthervariations of existing wagering games are always of interest to playersand casinos, and therefore, there is a desire for methods which wouldincrease wagering in the game of Baccarat.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates generally to systems and methods of modifying,providing and conducting wagering games, and more particularly,multi-layered wagering games.

Some embodiments of the invention are directed to systems and methods ofproviding a wagering game associated with an underlying game ofbaccarat, comprising the steps of: displaying one or more wagering areasand indicia relating to associated wagering opportunities, includingdisplaying a wagering area for wagering on a specific tie outcome;receiving game outcome data from an instance of conducting an underlyinggame of baccarat according to its rules, wherein the underlying gameoutcome includes data relating to a player hand score and a banker handscore;

comparing the underlying game outcome data with preset criteria, whereinthe preset criteria consists of the player hand score and banker handscore being a specific tie outcome of a single numerical number;providing a payout if the preset criteria is satisfied by the underlyinggame outcome data based on the odds of the specific tie outcomeoccurring; and collecting the wager if the preset criteria is notsatisfied by the underlying game outcome data.

In some embodiments of the aforementioned method, the step of receivingthe baccarat game outcome is further comprises using a program with arandom number generator. In other embodiments, this step involves usingat least one randomly ordered deck of physical playing cards.

Some embodiments of the invention are directed to a system or electronicplatform for providing a wagering game associated with an underlyinggame of Baccarat, comprising a processor configured for comparingbaccarat outcome data with preset criteria, wherein the preset criteriarelates consists of the player hand score and banker hand score being aspecific tie outcome of a single numerical number; and a communicationinterface configured for: displaying one or more wagering areas andindicia relating to associated wagering opportunities, includingdisplaying a wagering area for wagering on a specific tie outcome;receiving a wager relating to the associated wagering game; receivingbaccarat outcome data relating to an instance of conducting theunderlying game of baccarat until a baccarat outcome is achievedaccording to the rules of the baccarat game; displaying a notificationthat the wager is collected if the preset criteria is not satisfied bythe baccarat outcome data; and displaying a notification that the wageris paid according to an odds payout if the preset criteria is satisfiedby the baccarat outcome data.

In some embodiments, the processor conducts the underlying game ofbaccarat until a baccarat outcome is achieved according to the rules ofthe baccarat game. In other embodiments, real-time game play of theunderlying game of baccarat is displayed through the communicationinterface. The communication interface and processor may be mounted in aunitary housing, or the processor may be remotely located from thecommunication interface.

Some embodiments of the invention are directed to computer-implementedmethods of providing a wagering game associated with an underlyingbaccarat game, comprising one or more processors, communication devicesand data storage devices, all for facilitating the steps of: receivinginformation relating to a wager placed by a participating player in theassociated wagering game; transmitting information to the participatingplayer relating to play of the underlying baccarat game; receivinginformation relating to the baccarat game outcome; and transmittinginformation to the participating player relating to the outcome of thewager placed, wherein the information transmitted either includes anotification of the awarding of an odds payout amount the baccarat gameoutcome is a tie outcome in which the player hand and banker hand bothhave numerical scores of two or a notification that the wager placed hasbeen lost.

The communication devices may transmit information via a satellitenetwork or the world wide web.

Some embodiments of the invention are directed to a method of providinga wagering game associated with an underlying game of baccarat,comprising the steps of: receiving a wager relating to the associatedwagering game; conducting the underlying game of baccarat until abaccarat outcome is achieved according to the rules of the baccaratgame, or receiving baccarat outcome data relating to an instance ofconducting the baccarat game, wherein the baccarat outcome includes datarelating to a player hand score, a banker hand score, the number ofcards in the player hand, and the number of cards in the banker hand;comparing the baccarat outcome data with preset winning criteria,wherein the preset winning criteria includes the player hand score andthe banker hand score being the same and the score being a specificnumerical score; providing a payout if the preset winning criteria aresatisfied by the baccarat outcome data; and collecting the wager if thepreset winning criteria are not satisfied by the baccarat outcome data.

In some embodiments, the aforementioned method further comprisesreceiving a wager in the baccarat game. In some embodiments of theaforementioned method, the wagers are received electronically. In someembodiments of the aforementioned method, the underlying game ofbaccarat is conducted using physical playing cards drawn from a randomlyordered stock of playing cards. In some embodiments of theaforementioned method, the specific numerical score for the player andbanker hands are both two according to the rules of baccarat.

Some embodiments of the invention are directed to a system for providingthe methods described above.

In some embodiments, the aforementioned system provides an associatedwagering game with an underlying game of baccarat, which includes adevice, apparatus or method such as a communication interface forreceiving outcome data relating to an instance of conducting theunderlying game of baccarat until a baccarat outcome is achievedaccording to the rules of the baccarat game, wherein the baccaratoutcome includes data relating to a player hand score and a banker handscore; a processor configured for comparing the baccarat outcome datawith preset criteria, wherein the preset criteria includes the playerhand score and banker hand score being the same single numerical score.The communication interface may also be configured for (i) receiving awager relating to the associated wagering game; (ii) indicating that thewager is collected if the preset criteria is not satisfied by thebaccarat outcome data; and (iii) providing a payout if the presetcriteria is satisfied by the baccarat outcome data.

The information received regarding the underlying game of baccarat maybe received upon the game being conducted via a processor or throughphysical playing cards drawn from a randomly ordered stock of playingcards. The system may further include a display device configured fordisplaying the game play as the baccarat game is being played and/or theresults of the wager in the associated wagering game.

The communication interface may be a data input and/or data outputdevice or a remote computer terminal, such as a home computer or mobiledevice with access to local or global network. The system andcommunication interface may be configured for providing the associatedwagering game to players via an online system or the Internet. Theprocessor may also be remotely located from the player interface. Insome embodiments, the communication interface, processor and displaydevice may be mounted within a unitary housing, and the aforementionedsystem may be an electronic gaming machine or electronic platformincluding multiple data input devices providing player positions. Insome embodiments, the system may include one or more kiosks for viewinga baccarat game being played and providing associated wagering gamemethods as described herein.

Some embodiments of the invention are also directed to a non-transitorymachine readable media for providing a wagering game associated with anunderlying game including one or more software programs, code and/ordata segments as necessary to provide any of the methods describedherein on one or more machines. In some embodiments, the aforementionedmachine readable media may include software programs, code and/or datasegments as necessary to perform any of the methods described herein orto facilitate the installation and operation of software programs toprovide methods in a system as described herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a process flow chart depicting an exemplary embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary table layout configuredfor use with methods according to some embodiments of the invention,including physical or live table systems and virtual or partiallyvirtual electronic platforms.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of exemplary system components configuredfor use with methods according to some embodiments of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The exemplary embodiments herein relate to wagering games such asBaccarat or Blackjack or variants and modifications thereof in whichadditional or side wagers other than the underlying game wagers for suchgames are placed by players and received by the house or casino, or aperson or entity acting as a banker of the game, to be subsequentlyresolved in a secondary or associated wagering game which is resolved atleast in part by the randomly generated outcome of the underlying game.

It should be understood that each of the methods and individual stepsrecited herein may be partially or wholly carried out in a variety ofways and/or systems, which may include, but are not limited to, a livedealer physically dealing playing cards in a casino, an electronicgaming machine (EGM) for use by one or more players, a multiplayerplatform which may include a player interface such as a touchscreendisplay and involve physical or virtual playing cards, dealer andwagering chips, a home computer or portable computing device, such as atablet computer or mobile phone capable of communicating with a networkor over the Internet, global telecommunication network or world wideweb. It should further be understood that the methods and systems of theinvention are described herein in connection with a conventionalbaccarat game for illustrative purposes only, as the methods and systemsof the invention may be employed, combined or integrated with modified,variant or otherwise non-conventional baccarat games.

Unless stated otherwise, all references herein that are made to “cards”,“decks”, “dealing”, “hands” or other such expressions that areordinarily used in describing a wagering game that is played withphysical playing cards are also meant to describe and capture allassociated electronic and online representations of said physicalplaying cards, including their associated graphical and numeric cardsymbols (for instance, suits such as hearts, spades, diamonds or clubs,face cards such as jacks, queens and kings, and the aces and othernumbered cards of a typical playing deck). The said expressions are alsomeant to extend as well to all forms of electronic dealing, distributionor allocation of the said card symbols, according to the rules of theunderlying wagering game.

It should further be understood that the invention is directed to, amongother things, methods of providing, conducting and resolvingmulti-layered wagering games that include a sequence of controlled andconcrete transformative events. Some of these events may involvewagering or transmission thereof, the generation of random data, theapplication of randomly-generated data to predefined rules, thedetermination of wager outcomes in accordance with preset outcomedetermining criteria, the notification of such outcomes, awarding ofpayouts and collecting of wagers. The generation of random data may befacilitated by computerized and/or physical implements. Thetransformative events may also include parsing of the data forcomparative purposes with preset criteria to determine an outcome in asecond, bonus or associated wagering game.

A method of conducting a wagering game associated with an underlyinggame of baccarat according to some embodiments of the invention isgenerally referred to by the reference numeral 10 in FIG. 1.

As shown by step 12, method 10 may be facilitated by providing a tablelayout such as layout 50 shown in FIG. 2 so that wagering areas andindicia relating to wagering opportunities may be displayed to potentialplayers and used for the placement of wagers thereon.

In step 14, a wager is received by a player interested in playing theassociated game. In this embodiment, the wager is optional, and may bereceived along with a wager in the underlying baccarat game. However, inother embodiments, the wager placed in step 14 may be mandatory, alongwith a wager received in the underlying baccarat game, so that theplayer must place wagers in both the underlying baccarat game andassociated game.

In step 16, the underlying baccarat game is played or operated until anoutcome is achieved according to the rules of the underlying baccaratgame and received according to the invention. For example, regardless ofthe version of baccarat, the baccarat game will be carried out until anoutcome is achieved in which the player hand win, banker hand win ortie. It should be understood that the underlying game and associatedgame may be conducted at the same or different locations and/or time, solong as baccarat game outcome data is received.

In step 18, data describing the underlying baccarat game outcome iscompared with preset criteria for resolving the wager received inconnection with the underlying game in step 14. The outcome of theunderlying game obtained in step 18 may be stored in memory, displayedthrough physical cards, automatically determined such as by a cardreading camera or other card reading baccarat card shoe, or input by adealer for purposes of conducting the comparison of step 18.

The preset criteria relates to the score of the player hand and bankerhand being the same one or more scores as determined pursuant to therules of the underlying baccarat game. In the exemplary embodimentdescribed herein, the preset criteria includes the score of the playerhand and the score banker hand being the same single number, that is, atie outcome of two according to the rules of the underlying baccaratgame. In other words, the preset criteria may relate to a 2-2 tieoutcome, that is, a final outcome in which the player and banker handstie with a point total of “2” according to the rules of the underlyinggame of Baccarat of any version.

It should be readily apparent that the preset criteria may vary and bemodified in accordance with the invention and depending on the dataobtainable from the underlying game outcome.

As shown by step 20, if the data obtained from the underlying gameoutcome does not satisfy the preset criteria, then the outcome of theassociated game is determined to be a loss and the wager received instep 14 is collected in step 22.

As also shown by step 20, if the data obtained from the underlying gameoutcome satisfies the preset criteria, then the outcome of theassociated game is determined to be a win, the wager received in step 14is resolved as such and a payout is provided in step 24. The payout instep 24 may be anything of value, such as a fixed amount, a multiple ofthe wager received in step 14, an odds-based payout, all or a portion ofan incremented progressive award or a prize. In the exemplaryembodiment, a payout for satisfying the winning preset criteria of a 2-2tie outcome may be 195 to 1 unit wagered on step 14. It should bereadily apparent that many variations of the preset criteria and payoutsmay be advantageously employed in embodiments of the invention.

As mentioned above, layout 50 shown in FIG. 2 is intended to facilitateplay of a method according to the invention, such as method 10. Layout50 includes a player interface or position 52. It should be understoodthat layout 50 may include a plurality of player positions 52,depending, for example, on whether layout 50 is used in a live tablegame format in which there would be multiple players seated at thegaming table, or is electronically provided at a gaming kiosk providedfor individual players. Layout 50 may be a physical or virtualrepresentation of a felt table display, as it should be understood thatthe methods of the invention would function as described herein if anyone or more of the layout, cards, dealers or wagering chips or apparatuswere virtually or physically represented. In this embodiment, eachplayer position 52 includes a player hand wagering position 54, a bankerhand wagering position 56, and an associated game wagering position 58for wagering on the associated wagering game according to the invention.Layout 50 further includes a player hand card position 60 and a bankerhand card position 62 for forming the respective player and bankerhands. It should be understood that player interface 52 may be anelectronic device. It should also be understood that the exact locationof the wagering areas and configuration of layout 50 may differ.

In some embodiments, the layout 50 may entirely be provided via acomputer interface. Alternatively, the game methods according to theinvention may be implemented and presented by means of computer programcode which, by way of example, when executed by a processor, causes thedisplay of the wagering options described herein and a game layout.

Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the methodsdescribed herein may be incorporated in an electronic gaming system inaccordance with the invention using virtual representations of tablelayouts such as layout 50. The system of the invention may includevarious computer and network related software and hardware, such asprograms, operating systems, memory storage devices, data input/outputdevices, data processors, servers with links to data communicationsystems, wireless or otherwise, and data transceiving terminals. Thoseskilled in the art will further appreciate that the precise types ofsoftware and hardware used are not vital to the full implementation ofthe methods of the invention so long as players and operators thereofare provided with useful access thereto, either through a gamingplatform, or a mobile device or other computing platform via a globaltelecommunication network.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary system 151 constructed in accordancewith some embodiments of the invention. System 151 includes processingdevice 168 in communication with a database or memory device 170,communication or data input/output device 172 and a display device 174.In some embodiments, display device 174 is a touch-enabled device andincludes a data input device component. Memory device 170 may includedata relating to the underlying game and embodiments of the invention asdescribed herein, such as the preset criteria. A virtual representationof a layout such as layout 50 and one or more player positions 176 maybe displayed on display device 174 for facilitating the transmittal andreceipt of wagers in accordance with any of the embodiments herein, suchas method 10. Game outcomes may be received from a live table game orgenerated by a random number generator. Game outcomes are displayed andwagers are tracked using display device 174 and processing device 168compares the underlying game outcome with the preset criteria, storinginformation relating to the satisfaction of the preset criteria inmemory 170. Processing device 168 compares the preset criteria with theunderlying game outcome stored in memory 170. Should the preset criteriabe satisfied, a payout will be determined by processing device 168 andindicated on display device 174. If the preset criteria are notsatisfied, the same is indicated on display device 174.

While exemplary systems and methods, and applications of methods of theinvention, have been described herein, it should also be understood thatthe foregoing is only illustrative of a few particular embodiments withexemplary and/or preferred features, as well as principles of theinvention, and that various modifications can be made by those skilledin the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.Therefore, the described embodiments should not be considered aslimiting of the scope of the invention in any way. Accordingly, theinvention embraces alternatives, modifications and variations which fallwithin the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the claimsand equivalents thereto.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of providing a wagering game associatedwith an underlying game of baccarat, comprising the steps of: displayingone or more wagering areas and indicia relating to associated wageringopportunities, including displaying a wagering area for wagering on aspecific tie outcome; receiving game outcome data from an instance ofconducting an underlying game of baccarat according to its rules,wherein the underlying game outcome includes data relating to a playerhand score and a banker hand score; comparing the underlying gameoutcome data with preset criteria, wherein the preset criteria consistsof the player hand score and banker hand score being a specific tieoutcome of a single numerical number; providing a payout if the presetcriteria is satisfied by the underlying game outcome data based on theodds of the specific tie outcome occurring; and collecting the wager ifthe preset criteria is not satisfied by the underlying game outcomedata.
 2. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the single numericalnumber is two.
 3. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the step ofreceiving game outcome data is achieved further comprising using atleast one randomly ordered deck of physical playing cards for conductingthe underlying game.
 4. A system for providing a wagering gameassociated with an underlying game of Baccarat, comprising: a) aprocessor configured for comparing baccarat outcome data with presetcriteria, wherein the preset criteria relates consists of the playerhand score and banker hand score being a specific tie outcome of asingle numerical number; and b) a communication interface configuredfor: (i) displaying one or more wagering areas and indicia relating toassociated wagering opportunities, including displaying a wagering areafor wagering on a specific tie outcome (ii) receiving a wager relatingto the associated wagering game; (iii) receiving baccarat outcome datarelating to an instance of conducting the underlying game of baccaratuntil a baccarat outcome is achieved according to the rules of thebaccarat game; (iv) displaying a notification that the wager iscollected if the preset criteria is not satisfied by the baccaratoutcome data; and (v) displaying a notification that the wager is paidaccording to an odds payout if the preset criteria is satisfied by thebaccarat outcome data.
 5. A system as recited in claim 4, wherein aprocessor conducts the underlying game of baccarat until a baccaratoutcome is achieved according to the rules of the baccarat game.
 6. Asystem as recited in claim 4, wherein real-time game play of theunderlying game of baccarat is displayed through the communicationinterface.
 7. A system as recited in claim 4, wherein the communicationinterface and processor are mounted in a unitary housing.
 8. A systemaccording to claim 4, wherein the processor is remotely located from thecommunication interface.
 9. A computer-implemented method of providing awagering game associated with an underlying baccarat game, comprisingone or more processors, communication devices and data storage devices,all for facilitating the steps of: receiving information relating to awager placed by a participating player in the associated wagering game;transmitting information to the participating player relating to play ofthe underlying baccarat game; receiving information relating to thebaccarat game outcome; and transmitting information to the participatingplayer relating to the outcome of the wager placed, wherein theinformation transmitted either includes a notification of the awardingof an odds payout amount the baccarat game outcome is a tie outcome inwhich the player hand and banker hand both have numerical scores of twoor a notification that the wager placed has been lost.
 10. Thecomputer-implemented method according to claim 9, wherein thecommunication devices transmit information via a global computingnetwork.
 11. The computer-implemented method according to claim 9,wherein the communication devices transmit information via a satellitenetwork.